


What Never Was

by WindwiseWords



Series: Clone Culture [6]
Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Dissociation, Implied Relationships, Imprisonment, Jedi Knights, M/M, Medical Examination, Medical Procedures, Order 66 Failure, Panic Attacks, Post-Order 66, Post-War, Reunions, Separation Anxiety, Separations, Wrongful Imprisonment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-24
Updated: 2018-03-24
Packaged: 2019-04-07 07:18:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14075856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WindwiseWords/pseuds/WindwiseWords
Summary: It all failed, and the rabbit holes ran too deep, and what never was came to fruition.





	What Never Was

They put them in a dorm room, which wasn’t so different. Each group found themselves divided by original squad, and in some cases the ‘what is left’ scenario, what was left of the batch. Either way, it broke apart the teams, and cries of anger, despair, and long-gone sanity echoed off the walls.

Order 66 never occurred. Whatever happened, perhaps a loyalty shift or perhaps the chips malfunctioned for the most part, the Clones received the orders and turned. Not on their Jedi, but on the Chancellor, those that didn’t know claiming traitor, those that did claiming faulty ruler. Commander Fox and his units let the swarm in, and at the end of the night, there was only on casualty out of the entire raid.

Similar raids followed, Clones nothing but prepared and ready. They knew they’d be made the scapegoats, chased and demonized, but nobody figured the Jedi would order this.

Only a few ordered it really, the entire tree of structure in upheaval after the death of the Chancellor. Powerful figureheads were demonized along with the clones, conspiracy theories ran wild, and the clones in their city on Kamino took over to protect the most vulnerable of their species.

Species, Fives thought, wondering if a species could be all of the same face. He looked up from the mirror. A group of ARC troopers, stationed on Kamino, and now prisoners by the same Jedi he trusted so much. Across the way, through the operating theatre glass, he could see Wolffe, gone wild with aggressive fear. He put a hand to the glass, murmuring the soft ‘udesii’ that he needed and couldn’t hear. Just seeing that another brother was so close drove him wild; Fives pulled the shutters before he gave in.

Their coms worked, perhaps a devilish plot to break them, maybe a tool to provide comfort. Fives tried Rex, no reply. Then he tried Wolffe, no reply. Echo, Tup always answered, and always broke down into tearless sobs of distress. Clones were made to need other clones, be it in enemies, rivalries to do better, or close bonds that rivaled marriages. Fives knew he would break, it was only a matter of time before he was a howling animal like Wolffe across the way.

Dangerous they said, they were dangerous to the Jedi and the Senate. Fives heard the orders in his head, issue order 66 but no desire to kill came. A few of his squad tensed up, then seemed confused when the only one there was a Kaminoan nurse, the woman terrified until Fives took down the two that threatened her. She graciously assisted in the removal of the suspicious implants, and with Fives help, they did much the same with any others they could lure into the theater. This went on for two days until they were restrained by Jedi-loyal troopers, who issued a quarantine. She was in the theater next to him, and he could hear her singing some native song sometimes.

They did this to them, but Fives didn’t care if she knew or not. She helped he and his little droid companion with their work for two days until they were stopped. He’d tap on the wall sometimes in code, only to get some taps back in random order. It kept him sane, a week past and the clones he tried at random all reporting being driven like animals into pens, civilians trying to break them free, the droid army all but stopped and regressed to the furthest reaches of known space…

On day ten Fives felt his will to control himself slip, Anakin Skywalker of all Jedi passing by. He lunged at the glass, startling the Jedi with the force he threw behind himself. He heard his shoulder crunch against it, saw splintering, but the glass didn’t give. Talking, shouting, from the room next to him as the pain overwhelmed and drove him to tear his fingers against the broken glass.

“—can’t help him, I can!” The nurse pleaded. “Jedi Knight, you are there to protect the peace, but these men, these men are tearing themselves to pieces!”

Anakin heard the words, heard the pleads, but after the Jedi Order seized control of the senate, after he watched Rex level a pistol with his head and state he was taking the 501st away before they too were caged, Anakin wasn’t sure they were men. But this Kaminoan didn’t have a chip, didn’t have one removed, and didn’t care to execute the Jedi. They checked.

With a slight delay, he went to open the cell despite his orders, and the female bowed and gratefully thanked him before rushing right to Fives. “Fives? CT-5555! I am here! I am coming in!” She disregarded the Jedi’s warning, and as soon as she entered pressed a syringe of mild anesthetic, only to numb his body. Surgical grade, prepared until she ran out of materials. “Fives, you have broken the window. That is nearly impossible for a creature of your mass.”

Fives heard the science talk, grew used to it during the days of hiding from clone squads tearing the ship apart and securing all those they saw as enemies. A war of wills, those protecting their Kaminoan doctors, those calling for blood. By the first night, all of them had been sent away, and the City of Clones arose. The second night saw that city fall.

“Fives, your shoulder is dislocated badly. I am going to put it in place. It will hurt.” Something firm shoved between his teeth, a strip of folded fabric from her gown sleeve. “Please do not bite your tongue.” Fives did as requested, the mild drug wearing off and the sharp click-crunch hurting like fire.

Something clicked in his mind, and he bolted up. He could move, he could go, he could survive. ARC training at it’s finest, he grabbed the table liner from the theater and threw it over the Jedi as he ran past. He knew exactly where he was going, and the pulse of raw fear as he heard the igniting saber tear through the skirt and the holler that one escaped. The nurse did nothing, staying out of Fives’ mad dash to freedom.

It wasn’t freedom though. He didn’t head for the exits, confusing his former General who called after him away, lightsaber tucked away. He made it past several familiar faces, cracked windows, Kaminoans, even his officer escort from when he was a cadet, too small to reach the door buttons. But he made it to one room, knowing exactly which, and tore the door controls out of the wall. Security protocols forced it open, and Tub barreled into his chest at full force, sending them both onto the floor.

The Shiny so strong, the first to show the plot against them, his Tup. Fives crushed him to his chest harder than he should have, damaged shoulder screaming but he couldn’t let go. Finally tears, apologies, all echoed by Tup… Echo!

They reached the realization at the same time, and just as Anakin turned the corner, Echo and the troopers trapped with him were set loose upon the compound, seeking like missiles the troopers they missed most. Fives gathered Echo up, shoving Tup behind him and guarding them both like an aggressive massif over her nest, teeth bared and shoulders low. Could he take a Jedi? He’d find out.

Anakin watched the situation unfold, the troopers charging past him in groups to seek out their squad mates, captains, Shinies. Crasher went instantly for the cadets, gathering up his ‘vode’ika,’ little brothers all together and keeping them close. Too young to develop those unbridled desire to stay close, they worriedly tried to calm down their distraught escort officer.

“Anakin? Anakin, what did you DO?” Obi-Wan, of course.

“I let Fives out. And that nurse… He broke his shoulder, I didn’t know what else to do! He looked bad.”

“They all look bad Anakin, they’re all going mental no matter how much therapy we do for the chip removal.” Obi-Wan ran a hand through his hair, staring at the mess of troopers sobbing, clinging, snarling at the Jedi that got too close. None of them made for the Jedi.

Anakin came closer to Fives slowly, hands up. Fives’ threat warnings triggered hard and he went for his pistol that wasn’t there, then for Tup’s rifle, none there. He was reduced to the knives in his gauntlets… Only he had no armor.

“Fives, what’s going on?” Anakin said slowly. “What’s going on, trooper, report.” Military speak, something familiar, something he could ground Fives with.

Echo shied away, unlike the trooper, and Tup looked like he’d bolt if it weren’t for Fives’ hand on his wrist. “You took them away. You can’t take them this time!” Fives all but snarled, straightening himself and staring at the Jedi challengingly. “You’re not my General anymore, sir. You can’t take them. Not without a fight.”

Anakin had no desire to go at it with the trooper. They were ordered specifically not to kill the troopers, lest they inflame all those imprisoned. 3.2 million bodies made to destroy them. “Fives, why are all the troopers going insane? Talk to me. Not as a General, just as Anakin.”

“You were never just Anakin.” Fives shuffled the two he protected back, Echo now stepping up to shield Tup with his body. “And you can’t be just Anakin. You’re a Jedi, and the Jedi hate us now...” Childish thoughts from a man no older than 10 years, and yet so much older his senior.

“That’s simply not true, soldier.” Obi-Wan cut in, coming over slowly with his hands up. “We’re trying to contain a problem before more people get hurt.”

“Chancellor deserved to die! How many brothers did he have made to kill? Turn us all on our Generals, make us puppets? How many Jedi turned on US?”

“All fair points, but tell me, why do you think we’re going to take those two away?”

An underlying question, why those two troopers? Fives dropped his aggressive snarl, staring at the Jedi both with cold anger. “These two, are MY troopers. And they have names. I have a name! He knows it!” Fives pointed at Anakin. “And he’s one of the most reckless Generals out of the entire army! But at least he stood to die with his men. At least he bothered to get a name. Our names. These two are mine.” The insanity crept up again, and out of nowhere the nurse appeared with a bunch of cadets on the tail of her skirt.

“Please move away from the patient. He’s experiencing separation anxiety.” The nurse kept the Cadets away from the Jedi, hiding them behind herself, though the young troopers looked ready to fight. “I have seen many cases on my way here, nearly a dozen and climbing. The troopers’ programming, those chips, had little to do with their self-loyalty. Fives has told me during our time together, of their relations. Forgive me Fives, I know I said I would not tell… They consider themselves riduur.”

Anakin looked stumped, but Obi-Wan with a characteristic stroke of beard. “That means ‘partner’ in Mando’a. A romantic partner…” He trailed off and looked at Fives, so aggressively keeping Anakin back as he tried to approach, threatening to tear at him with hands and teeth if it came to it.

“In your hasty seclusion of all these supposedly aggressive men, you’ve separated the very bonds that kept them stable, what kept them from attacking. Be it romantic or that of siblings, these troopers require each other. I have freed these cadets to test my theory. Go find him.” She instructed. The nurse had little experience with young troopers, but knew they took order and direction well. The cadets hesitated before the lead cadet took off for the hallways. Tup took off after them to protect them, not liking the Kaminoan at all, and thus the other two troopers tagged along. Jedi followed, and the nurse set about tending any locked doors as they went.

The Jedi were surprised, what they saw among the troopers. Anakin recognized some of his own, curled up in piles together or guarding doorways they marked as theirs. The Cadets made right for a door, and one stacking on the shoulders of another, they managed to wedge open the panel with a blunt spread knife, stolen from one of the operating theaters. The room opened, and several troopers fled past, one lingering.

Fives came over to help, moving in with Tup to gather the lost looking man and take him to the Cadets. He watched them blankly, then knelt to be surrounded by his students.

“Even the escort officers seem to bond closely.” Obi-Wan stated thoughtfully.

Anakin watched everything, and with a jaw set with determination headed for the nearest door, cutting the lock with his lightsaber, then the next. Then the next, freeing the troopers. “This was wrong, Master. It’s all wrong.”

Obi-Wan rushed to stop him but froze as he saw a familiar face looking at him through the glass. “Cody’s here? Cody?” The face was blank, lost just like the officer. “Cody! Respond, that’s an order!” Cody responded, turning a shoulder to the glass and looking down. Obi-Wan felt a kind of sympathetic panic, the feelings of the troopers leaking strongly into the force. “You’re right Anakin, cut this one! Oh, blast it all…” Obi-Wan took a page from his student’s book, cutting the lock right there with a total disregard for finesse, and rushed into the cell.

Cody startled back like a beaten animal, eyes wide and head turned like he was expecting the worse. “S-Sir!”

Obi-Wan looked between him and the lightsaber, turning it off and stowing it on his belt. “Cody, it’s alright. The door’s open now. You can go find your troopers.” He stepped aside, giving room, but the Commander didn’t move. Obi-Wan looked over Cody for injuries. “Cody, you can go! Here.” He stepped outside, the other side of the glass and across to the other wall, but still Cody didn’t go.

“There’s nobody here for him.” Echo muttered, catching the Jedi’s attention.

“There’s other members of the 212th here! He can go to them.” Obi-Wan insisted, calling for his Commander again. “Cody, you can leave. You’re dismissed!”

“There’s nobody in the 212th he’d be looking for like Fives did us.” Echo corrected, holding Tup close again before the nervous trooper tried to flee. “He’s gone, isn’t he? He saw it coming. Rex.”

The name got a response from Cody. “Rex? Rex, where’s Rex?” Cody finally exited the room and ran up to Fives, gripping his greys. “Where’s Rex, Fives? You always know!”

Fives bit his own lip and crushed Cody to his chest. “Rex took who he could and left, Commander. I’ve no doubt he’ll be back for you.” But Cody was inconsolable, fingers biting into flesh as he clung onto Fives like a life-line. Whatever he said made no coherent sense.

Fives shot a look straight at Anakin, the ferocity of which made his eyes twitch but nothing else. “You Jedi did this. And if you think Commander Cody is the only one torn apart, you best go look at Wolffe.”

The nurse again, flanked by two others of her kind freed from their prisons. “I sent others to tend Commander Wolffe, Fives. I have located some of his…Pack.” The nurse tried the word and shook her head. “Squad. I sense a power shift here, Jedi. I would go before they retake the control center. Not all of them are as bad as Fives and his team.”

Cody glanced over at Obi-Wan, cleaning up his face quickly and embarrassedly. “They won’t shoot you down if you leave in a straight path, sir… If you stay, the plan was to quarantine the Jedi.” Maybe it was betrayal, but Cody couldn’t pick between his brothers and his General. Loyal to a fault, just like Rex.

Obi-Wan hesitated, then decided to look through the rooms Anakin hadn’t slashed open, before selecting one with an actual cot and bookshelf. He gestured to it from the middle, through the glass. “Then I suppose I’ll stay here.”

“Master?” Anakin looked up from his latest demolition, receiving an awkward hug on the waste from a cadet.

“Someone has to serve as a go-between, and it’s my Commander who is stuck here without his significant other.” Obi-Wan sat on the edge of a table in the room. “I just would like some reading material while I wait.”

Fives watched the two Jedi stare each other down, one smug and sure and the other a bit upset and frustrated. “If YOU stay, Anakin, who is going to go give the council a piece of your mind? And find your estranged Captain. If anyone could track Rex, it’s you.”

Anakin looked down, considering his options. He could stay, be trapped, or go, and try to sort this mess out. “I think I’m done taking orders from superiors for a while.” He said slowly, then looked up at the trio that started the mess. “You three, can you get me to a working ship? I want to get back to Coruscant and get those troopers let loose. It’ll be a start.”

Fives eyed Anakin suspiciously, but Tup nodded and stepped up. “It’s to the east.”

The nurse spoke up and waved him to follow. “I know the way. You three, I am putting you on three days of bedrest. Altogether, of course.” Fives perked up and seemed concerned, but she raised a hand. “I must go with Anakin to ensure that the troopers there are treated correctly. I can provide an unbiased first-hand account of this… This atrocity of a medical disaster.”

Anakin nodded, stepping up to walk by her. “The council will trust your word more than mine, doctor. Last chance, Master.”

Obi-Wan had already found a book, settling into the chair in the room. “I think I’ll stay right here. This manual on the proper cleaning of a helmet seems fascinating.” A charismatic smirk, and the Jedi was gone into his reading. Cody managed a little smile.

Fives felt woozy, too much happening all at once, but Echo kept him upright. “We’ll take care of the other troopers that are trapped, sir.”

“I could always count on you three.” Anakin smiled, and headed off with the nurse. “Hold down the fort. I’ll be back once I find Rex.”

And just like that, the Kamino Clone City was reborn. Built in a day, so to speak, but Fives didn’t care too much. Cody ended up staying with Obi-Wan, starting with the actual proper methods of cleaning a helmet along with other cultural things he’d missed being a General instead of just a friend.

What their future was, the trio didn’t know. But that wasn’t anything new, and they embraced the new strange thing called freedom as they went to pick a place to rest. Together, triple-bunking as they always did with two cots shoved together and laying lengthwise along it. Fives, Tup, then Echo.

“Do you think he’ll find the captain?” Tup asked into the quiet. “I think he will.”

“I think… He will try his hardest. General Skywalker always did at least that.” Echo confirmed.

“Let’s not think too hard on it now. The nurse put us on bedrest.” Fives had a smile in his voice, nestling into Tup “Maybe we’re not soldiers for them anymore, but it’s been too much all in one day.” Fives felt rest calling, especially when Echo wrapped arms around the pair of them. First watch, keeping them safe, the quiet breaths of each other reminding them that despite the terror of the last week they were there, alive, and safe. Just another battle they’d won together.

**Author's Note:**

> So the internet went out, this was the product.


End file.
